Freddie Mac has expanded its winter REO sales incentive program to the states of Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon, and Washington. That makes the promotional offer now active in 33 states and the District of Columbia. The winter sales promo is being offered through HomeSteps, Freddie Mac's REO disposition unit, and pays an extra $1,000 bonus to the selling agent, as well as additional incentives to owner occupant buyers. Offers must be received by January 31, 2012.

Data released by Freddie Mac Wednesday shows mortgage interest rates across the board edged lower for the shortened holiday week, with the 30-year fixed rate slipping to its second-lowest reading on record and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) setting new all-time lows. The 30-year fixed-mortgage rate has averaged at or below 4 percent for four consecutive weeks now. For the week ending November 23, Freddie Mac's study puts it at 3.98 percent. The 5-year ARM is now averaging 2.91 percent, and the 1-year ARM is 2.79 percent.

The PMI Group, Inc. says it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. According to PMI, the move is a direct result of the seizure of its subsidiaries PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. and PMI Insurance Co. by the Arizona Department of Insurance on October 20, 2011. PMI sought to overturn the regulator's seizure of its mortgage insurance operations, but that motion was denied on Friday.

That ominous shadow inventory of repossessed and soon-to-be repossessed homes is getting smaller. Standard and Poor's (S&P) has released its third-quarter shadow inventory update. The agency says the volume of distressed assets included in its assessment dropped from $405 billion in the second quarter to $384 billion in the third. This figure has been on a steady decline since mid-2010. At current liquidation rates, S&P says it will take 45 months to work through the industry's shadow inventory.

Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC has announced the hiring of Brad Nease as SVP, capital markets. In this newly created position, Nease will lead the secondary marketing efforts for the company's growing loan origination business, and will be responsible for product development, investor relations, loan trading, and warehouse lending. Nease has more than 28 years' experience in the industry. He joins Carrington from ICON Residential Lenders, where he was COO of capital markets.

New York's largest foreclosure law firm is shutting its doors. Steven J. Baum, PC has found itself embroiled in a PR firestorm, and now, after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instructed servicers to pull their business from the firm, it's closing up shop. The firm's principal, Steven Baum, signaled his company was about to go dark late last week in a letter to New York Times columnist Joe Nocera. ""Mr. Nocera -- You have destroyed everything and everyone related to Steven J. Baum PC. It took 40 years to build this firm and three weeks to tear down,"" Baum wrote.

Continental REO Services (CREO) recently appointed Beth Zink as closing coordinator. Zink joined CREO's closing department in 2009, where she assisted with large accounts including Chase and PHH Mortgage Corporation. Prior to her time with CREO, Zink worked for six years at St. Louis Financial Planners, Inc. as an assistant to the manager.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a report Tuesday on actions taken to correct deficiencies in mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing by the 12 institutions it oversees. The OCC has made public the names of the independent consultants retained for foreclosure reviews, and notes that evaluations of certain cases and mailings to more than 4 million borrowers are underway. The agency says all servicers have instituted policies to end dual-tracking and provide borrowers with a single point of contact.

Three attorneys with the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based law firm Trott & Trott P.C. have been recognized as ""Top Lawyers"" by dbusiness magazine. Honorees with the firm include: Marcy J. Ford, Kenneth E. Kurel, and William D. Meagher. The magazine's Top Lawyers list recognizes attorneys practicing in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties in Michigan who possess the highest professional ability and ethical standards. The designation is achieved through peer voting, which is based on the annual Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings listing.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee introduced legislation in early November aiming to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next 10 years and replace the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) with a new government-run registry. According to the ratings agency DBRS, Corker's proposal could give the private market for mortgage securitizations a much needed boost, and the creation of a new MERS database could ease investor concerns over the legal battles facing the original system.